Kazakhstan’s 25th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations

The 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

On 10 September 2017 Kazakhstan and the Netherlands mark a significant event – the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In a quarter of a century, Kazakh-Dutch relations have reached a high level of development, and Astana and The Hague maintain intensive and trustful political dialogue while actively expanding trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian ties.

The official visit of the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to The Hague within the framework of his participation in the Nuclear Security Summit in March 2014, and the official visit of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, to Astana in December 2015 provided significant impetus to comprehensive dialogue.

Parliamentary diplomacy has made its own contribution to the strengthening of bilateral cooperation. The President of the Dutch Senate, Rene van der Linden, and the Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Kabibulla Dzhakupov, exchanged country visits in September 2012 and May 2015, respectively.

During their tenure in 2018 as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, Kazakhstan and the Netherlands intend to work closely on issues of strengthening peace and stability as well as to provide mutual support in the promotion of the two countries’ international initiatives.

Trade and economic cooperation lies at the core of bilateral relations. The Netherlands is the “number one” investor in terms of direct investments in Kazakhstan’s economy and the second largest European Union partner in terms of foreign trade turnover with Kazakhstan.

More than 900 companies with Dutch capital are represented in Kazakhstan’s economy, most of them actively engaged in oil and gas, geological exploration, aerospace, supply of agricultural machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals and medicine, and the production of consumer goods.

The parties show considerable interest in developing cooperation in the “green technologies” field, as clearly demonstrated by the participation of the Netherlands in EXPO 2017 in Astana.

Kazakhstan and the Netherlands intend to continue close trade, economic, and investment cooperation as the foundations for mutually beneficial strategic partnership.